Hypertension management in the digital era

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Hypertension (HTN) is the most common chronic disease in the United States, and the standard model of office-based care delivery continues to yield suboptimal outcomes, with approximately 50% of affected patients not achieving blood pressure (BP) control. Poor population-level BP control has been primarily attributed to therapeutic inertia and low patient engagement resulting in significant and preventable morbidity and mortality. This review will highlight the rationale for a reengineered model of care delivery for populations with HTN. RECENT FINDINGS: New technologies now enable patients to generate accurate home-based BP readings that are transmitted directly into the electronic medical record. Using more frequent BP measurements in conjunction with assessment of social health determinants, computerized algorithms can be generated that provide tailored interventions and communications that can transform HTN control. SUMMARY: New capabilities enable healthcare providers the means to measure larger volumes of BP data directly from home and provide near real-time interventions that can dramatically improve HTN control.